MAYPORT, Fla. — The Mayport community is coming together to help feed and provide free supplies to military members and their families, amid uncertainty surrounding the ongoing government shutdown.
Cars encompassed the parking lot at the Mayport Navy League’s latest Military Monday food drive.
This time, 200 meals were ready to be distributed, along with 10,000 diapers and baby wipes.
But ever since the government shutdown, these drives have been seeing traffic increase, with more and more military families facing uncertainty.
Iris MacFarland’s husband is currently deployed, and even though he was able to secure a loan through his bank to try and fill the gaps during the shutdown, there’s a lot of concern should the government not reopen soon.
“We’re trying to not get stressed because it’s a lot already to be raising a baby and having him far from here. So, we don’t want to over-stress ourselves, but it is a lot,” MacFarland said.
Barbara Ives is Vice President of the Mayport Navy League and said that since these drives started in January, she’s never seen a greater need.
“Normally, our military Mondays are only one Monday a month, but we had one last Monday, and we have another one today, and you can see the need. I mean, there is an incredible need for food,” Ives said.
President Donald Trump announced over the weekend that he would repurpose the research and development fund to ensure military families don’t miss a paycheck this week, but there are still unanswered questions.
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The National Military Family Association put out a release questioning whether the plan will include National Guard members, and whether checks will still come in on Wednesday, given that many federal workers who deal with payroll have been furloughed.
For MacFarland, she said she’s seeking all the help she can to ensure she and her baby are prepared in a worst-case scenario.
“And it feels a little bit hard when you’re like kind of proud and don’t want to do those kind of things, but you gotta do what you’ve got to do,” MacFarland said.
There are resources available, like no-interest loans for military members and other government employees, to help them get through this tough time.
For example, USAA announced it distributed more than $144 million in loans over a 48-hour period last week alone.
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